


Leave Me Out of It

by SugarLandBabyGirl



Category: One Piece
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crude Humor, Drama, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, General, Humor, Mild Adult Situations, mild violence, pirate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2014-08-15
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:13:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 4,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SugarLandBabyGirl/pseuds/SugarLandBabyGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They were at it, again. Damn it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Behind her, the noise escalated to a near deafening riot.

They were at it, _again_. Damn it.

As usual, the airheaded Captain was the culprit behind the fight in which most of the infamous Straw Hat crew was currently involved in, sans her of course.

She was the smart one. She knew when to make herself scarce, and times like this were perfect. It wasn’t that she _couldn’t_ fight and hold her own, because she _could_.

It was more to the fact that the members of this particular crew were… to put it bluntly eccentric _monsters_ that took human form.

There was no way in hell that she was going to get involved in one of their many, daily fights. No way man, not her. Not even for a king’s ransom would she even consider it.

She was normal in every possible way and she certainly didn’t have a death wish, thank you very much. Which is surely what her fate would’ve been if she let those idiots drag her into _that_ inhuman brawl.

They could fight amongst themselves all damn day if they wanted to for all she cared, just as long as they _left her out of it_.


	2. Chapter 2

Her laugh broke the silence and immediately drew the two quarrelling males' full, intimidating attention onto her.

It was completely unintentional on her part and perhaps a bit ill-timed as well. But she couldn’t help it. The sound had slipped through her lips before she could even begin to stifle it.

It wasn’t her fault that their argument, fueled solely by fragile male ego, had quickly turned into more of a comedic rendition of epic proportions than a serious dispute.

Honestly though, who _wouldn’t_ laugh at two supposedly grown men bickering like violently stubborn children over which one of them had killed the biggest dinosaur?

She knew however that she was about to be in some serious trouble when the brusque swordsman turned halfway to better face her with a scarily determined expression set on his features, while the perverted cook sang her name with hearts in his eyes.

“Oi, _you_ decide. Whose lizard is bigger, mine or the ero-cook’s?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep, it's another "written on a whim while playing around on Written? Kitten! and creative writing prompts . com". Those places coupled together seem to kick my lagging muse into full gear. I just wish it was for my current works instead of new ones. :P This is Prompt #343, again I went over the word limit, but I'm working on it and will hopefully get better at it the more I write within limits. :D


	3. Chapter 3

It was the one thing he cherished the most, aside from his _nakama_ and their wellbeing.

You didn’t have to know Luffy for very long to know that much.

Yet still, here they were again.

Some boastful, ignorant bastard had insulted his most prized possession.

She knew very little about the origins of that misleadingly simple straw hat, and only that it had been given to him as a gift from someone he greatly admired.

And that was more than enough information for her to understand.

Oh, how she wanted to kick the guy’s ass herself.

But it wasn’t her place.

She’d just have to settle for watching her Captain kick that guy’s sorry ass himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is based on the prompt #265 from 'creative writing prompts . com', but I switched the word 'coveted' for 'cherished', because the former word didn't sound quite right. Also this turned out more somber than I had originally planned. I do think that it gives deeper insight into the unidentified character without giving her too much of an identity. But I dunno, you readers can decide that for yourselves.
> 
> Take care everyone and happy reading!


	4. Chapter 4

"I wish someone told me about this _before_ I asked her for a loan." She hissed under her breath, while precariously balancing several heavy bags and boxes of brand spanking new and rather expensive clothes, jewelry and shoes on aching limbs.

Unfortunately the overload of booty wasn’t hers to enjoy. _Oh no_ , instead they belonged to that sneaky, conniving and just plain _evil_ Navigator. The evil Navigator to whom she was now in some serious debt to.

Just where in the hell was that damn perverted cook when you needed him? He was always so eager to help out his precious Nami-chan. So, _where was he_?

_‘Never again,’_ she swore silently herself, all the while giving the smirking swordsman a nasty glare as he watched her suffer without even bothering to offer her a helping hand when she clearly needed it.

The smug bastard, he could have at least warned her before she sold her soul to evil incarnate over a sorely needed new pair of boots.

They weren’t even that expensive for Pete’s sake!

Never again would she ask Nami for a favor, no matter how small. The resulting obligation and unfairly added on debt was _just not worth it_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be tempted to add different Pirates and or Pirate Crew's later on if ya'll think it'd be a good idea (suggest whomever you'd like to see in a review or a message), but for now it's just the Straw Hat Crew 'cause they're my favorites. :P
> 
> This is creative writing prompts . com's Prompt #134. :D
> 
> Pairing: [Nami & Roronoa Zoro x Unidentified]


	5. Chapter 5

When she first joined the Straw Hat crew she had no idea just how much she would come to depend on them; how much she would need their company to feel complete.

At the start of her journey with the oddest crew of miscreants ever seen, she would have never been able to guess at just how much it would tear her apart in side at the mere thought of losing just one of them.

They were her _nakama_ , and she was theirs.

Every single one of them held a sacred place in her heart. Nothing and no one would ever be able to take their place. Her time with them had changed her for the better in so many ways.

She owed each and every one of them a great debt that she would never be able to repay; certainly not in this lifetime, or even in the next. She was sure that even forever wouldn’t be long enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is... very short. I'm sorry, but hopefully you readers won't be too disappointed...?
> 
> Pairing: [Straw Hat Crew x Unidentified]


	6. Chapter 6

Why had fate been so cruel as to separate them? 

Unbidden, tears began to fall down her cheeks though her closed eyelids. She bit harshly into her bottom lip to stop from sobbing aloud, while her grip reflexively tightened around the smooth neck of the bottle in her hand that was fast becoming her new worst best friend. 

For the first time since having met them, she was completely alone. 

The sad truth was that she wasn’t strong enough to go on without them. She _needed_ them, each and every one of them. She needed their boisterous camaraderie, their unusual quirks, their individual strengths and their ridiculous weaknesses. 

To fight off the all-consuming pain tearing at her very soul, there was nothing left for her to do now but drown her sorrows in cheap alcohol, until she could learn to stand on her own. 

Sitting alone on the ocean’s edge of an island she didn’t know the name of, she made a silent vow to herself, to them, that when they next met she wouldn’t be as weak as she was now. She swore that she would be stronger, both physically and mentally. 

She would finally be strong enough to stand beside them, as an equal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, an angst filled chapter, but... it had to be done. The angst muse is stalking me, I swear. -_- And it really needs to go away! I hate writing angst this often!
> 
> Oh, if you haven't noticed already, the chapters and actions in this story are not in chronological order; it's a jumbled mess really. So this chapter takes place a couple days or so after the Straw Hat's get separated for two years.
> 
> Also, this is Prompt #141 from creative writing prompts . com. 
> 
> Until the next update, lovely readers!  
>  ~ SLBG


	7. Chapter 7

The first time she met the eccentric, love obsessed cook was certainly one of the most memorable. 

She was following her new captain, a _boy_ just a couple years her junior, and what she guessed was the equivalent of his first-mate onto their ship. Everything seemed fine and the people relatively normal, _at first_. 

Until a grouchy blond burst out of the kitchen in a whirlwind yelling obscenities at the two males she had accompanied into what she would later call ‘crazy land’. The blond and the green haired swordsman were at each other’s throats, when somehow she got mentioned. 

When that happened, the loud blond haired guy’s head snapped around, not so unlike an owl, looking intently for the new female crew member: _her_. It took him less than the blink of an eye for him to zero in on her and when he did… oh she wished that he hadn’t. 

He twirled, quite damn literally, up to her with hearts in his eyes and a cigarette between his teeth. He then clasped her hand between his and declared that she was the love of his life. 

_Really_? What _sane_ person does that? 

Shocked by this crazy stranger’s words and actions she acted instinctively and punched him in the face as hard as she possibly could. He fell out flat on the deck, his nose gushing blood and possibly broken. 

Zoro had congratulated her with a fierce grin, exuberant about what had happened to the blond, and a rough clap on her shoulder that sent her stumbling forwards a few paces. Luffy just laughed and Nami shook her head in exasperation before claiming that Sanji had it coming. 

It was only later, when Sanji and Zoro really got into it, that she realized he had _let her hit him_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um, not much to say really... except please enjoy this next installment. :D
> 
> Pairing: [Sanji x Unidentified]


	8. Chapter 8

She hadn’t known beforehand, but she certainly knew better now. 

_Do not_ , under any circumstances, follow Roronoa Zoro and expect to actually get where you’re supposed to be going. The fearsome swordsman couldn’t find his way with a map that _told_ him where to go, he was so terribly directionally challenged. 

It was _hot_ , she was _tired_ and she was _thirsty_. 

Also, she was just a little bit _angry_. If the dark glare she was shooting at everything but her sincerely confused companion and the ominous aura she was putting off was any indication. 

She was angry, but not at the sword idiot. He couldn’t help that he was severely directionally challenged. No, she wasn’t angry with him, even though she really wanted to throttle something. She was angry at herself, for _not asking_ before she willingly wandered off into what she considered no-man’s land with him as her guide. 

If they made it back to the ship or civilization, she swore that she’d never follow or trust him when he said he knew the way, ever again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: [Roronoa Zoro x Unidentified]
> 
> Again, nothing much to say... except that I hope you readers enjoy this installment. :D


	9. Chapter 9

The scoffing sun overhead was unforgiving as she, the rest the Straw Hat crew and two recent tagalongs trudged along deep within the blistering heat of the Alabasta Kingdom's endless desert.

Least to say, she was not by any means in a particularly _'good'_ mood.

The scenery was bland and she was pretty damn sure that this is what 'hell on earth' must be and feel like. No one in their ragtag group looked like they were in top form either. Dehydrated and severely sunburned seemed like a terrible way to go and the possibility of exactly that happening seemed to grow every half-hour that they spent wandering around in this hellhole.

To be completely honest, she was worried about this not-so-little side trip that her Captain and most of the crew decided was absolutely necessary. Sure, the runaway princess' story was a tearjerker and she did truly feel bad for the girl, but that didn't mean that they needed to stick their necks out for her.

After all, the princess _tried to kill them_ on _more than one occasion_. In her books, that was more than enough of a reason to leave a person to deal with their own shit without remorse or second thoughts on the matter.

Maybe she was just too coldblooded, her heart hardened by the rough, go-it-alone lifestyle she had been living for the last eighteen years, but if the decision had been left up to her, she definitely would have just let the princess deal with this shit herself.

She didn't know or care really if that made her a _'bad person'_ or not, because that was just how things were in the real world. It was what she had been taught early on and what she had learned firsthand from life experiences.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am right and truly sorry for not posting any damn thing in so long. This is a meager offer to show that I actually haven't kicked the bucket or fallen off the face of the earth and am still around, somewhat. I read tons more than I write nowadays, which is utterly pathetic and shameful. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time, and I am very sorry for the long wait.  
> \- SLBG

She woke up on Purgatory. 

Quite literally, as she later found out, after waking up on a beach choking on fine sand and heavy salt water. It would take a solid week before the taste would dissipate from her mouth.

As it turned out, that giant, thrice damned mechanical bear of a Shichibukai had knocked her as far away from her crew and Sabaody Archipelago as possible. Hell, she wasn't sure if she was still even on the Grand Line.

The island was 'home' to some of the worst scum and villainy humanity could produce, and that was putting it politely.

Purgatory was an island where only the strong and cunning survived. If you wanted anything then you had to literally fight tooth and nail to get it and just as hard to keep it. If you let your guard down for even a moment, it'd be the end of you.

She hated every inch this despicably lawless, god forsaken island.

Not because she had to fight every minute of every day just to survive a moment longer, or because of the hostile residents. No, it wasn't any of those things that made her hate the island. The unforgiving, 'survival of the fittest' nature of this island was nothing new to her.

She hated Purgatory because she had to face her past, alone.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Surprised? Well, I damn sure am. This update came to me outta the wild blue yonder. By the way, the last part can be completely ignored if you so choose, I really don't know why I even added it in the first place. XD 
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time.  
>  \- SLBG

Surprisingly enough, the infamous and feared Supernova turned Shichibukai _"Surgeon of Death"_ Trafalgar Law made the most entertaining of traveling partners.

It was downright hilarious to see the usually cocky and in control pirate Captain lose his cool and on occasion, be drawn in their pace. Perhaps, she had become just a little bit of a sadist over the past two years. Because honestly, the expressions of shock, mortification and horror he visibly wore were too damn good to pass up.

The _"I don't like bread!"_ slip-up was damn priceless, but the Chopper incident beat everything else by a clear mile.

She almost felt sorry for him, _almost_.

It was a damn shame that he wouldn't stay on with them permanently, even though she didn't trust him as far as she could throw him – which was actually farther than one might think. Still, she was sure that she'd never get bored with him around.

And truthfully speaking... despite the questionable feathered collar and the scruffy face fuzz, he really wasn't all that hard on the eyes. However, she'd rather die ten-thousand painful deaths before admitting that to anyone - especially the arrogant man himself or heaven forbid to any member of her crew.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, this piece is weird, very emotional and kind of depressing... -_- 
> 
> But, I can actually see someone feeling like this, especially when being compared with the two beautiful and strong Straw Hat ladies. A person's self-worth, especially a females, is a very fragile thing after all. I think it's worse for a character like the nameless girl in this drabble booklet. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time.  
> \- SLBG

Of the three Straw Hat Pirate women, she was undoubtedly the 'odd woman out' in terms of overall womanliness and beauty. 

She wasn't devilishly sly and daring like Nami, or coolly suave and mature like Nico Robin. Also, she didn't proudly show off her 'assets' for the world to see. She was just normal, plain even - completely lacking any form of sex appeal. 

The daily compliments from Sanji did not count; he was far too biased where women were concerned. Besides, everyone knew that he favored Nami the most, even more than Robin. She didn't resent them for that because she knew that she could never be like them, but still… it stung, just a little, she was only human after all. 

Where she grew-up, 'sex appeal' was for slutty young barmaids and cheap prostitutes with dead eyes. Back then, she never cared about her looks and only wanted to get strong enough to survive without resorting to such a dirty lifestyle - if one could even call that living. 

She really didn't know why she cared about such a trivial thing _now_. 

The Straw Hats were her _nakama_ , her family - she had no one to impress on this crew. But for once in her life, just once... she wanted to be seen as a woman and not just as 'one of the guys'. 

She too wanted to be, to feel, beautiful...


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This... did not turn out as I had planned. It's supposed to be similar to an 'extra', I guess that's the right definition...? Also, it's way to damn long and awkward to boot. I really, really wanted to write this interaction scene between these two, and yet... now that I've written it I feel like banging my head against the nearest hard surface screaming _'what the hell were you thinking, you moron - it turned out like crap - you should of just deleted it - it makes absolutely no sense!'_. -_-
> 
> Thank you for reading this crap and thank you so much for your time.  
> \- SLBG

_'Must be nice, to have someone who's always watching out for you.'_ She mused to herself while shrugging her slipping bag up a little high on her shoulder. She was stealthily observing the Straw Hat's temporary traveling partner with a wary eye.

He was... interesting and dangerous, definitely dangerous. She knew instinctively that even without his outrageously powerful Devil Fruit powers that neither she nor anyone in the crew would be a match for him in a real fight. His strength was the real thing.

Sure, she knew that she was being overly cautious. However, that didn't mean that he wasn't observing everyone in the group as well, because she knew for a fact that he was. She could feel his subtle scrutiny of the whole crew ever since he landed on the Going Merry.

Surprisingly, he was friendly and polite enough, so she had no true reason to dislike him, and she didn't. She just didn't trust him. But then again, she didn't truly trust anyone. Trusting people was the most difficult thing for her to do. She had never relied on anyone in her life, had never let anyone watch her back because all of the people she had known would sooner stab it and leave her for dead than actually protect it.

She had seen firsthand what happened to those naïve enough to trust others wrought: betrayal and death.

People in general where a truly despicable lot.

But as cynical as she was, even she knew that this guy was _different_. His care and worry for Luffy was genuine, and she suspected that he was loyal to a fault, especially to her Captain, and his own. Also, she got the impression that once he made up his mind about something, nothing and no one could stop him.

Her hand unconsciously clenched around the strap of her bag. For the first time since joining up with the Straw Hats she felt the sting of true, bitter resentment towards him, her childish Captain. She really envied her idiot of a Captain. He was so damn lucky. Did he even _know_ just how blessed he was?

She was so caught up in her whirlwind thoughts and emotions that she lost sense of the goings on around her, until she nearly ran face first into the broad back of their newest traveling companion, one "Fire Fist" Ace, and Luffy's older brother. When she realized just how close they were, she immediately jolted back a few steps with a low hiss of agitation and natural suspicion.

 _Too close!_ He was dangerous, and he was too close. Her instincts screamed and ranted at her stupidity – a mistake like that with the wrong person could've cost her, her life.

However, he didn't appear even remotely bothered, and that's exactly what set her on edge about him the most. He was too at ease with her so near. She knew that he wasn't unaware of her not-so-subtle defensiveness and distrust where he was concerned.

She stiffed when he turned, ever so slightly in her direction. For a moment they openly observed one another - him with a thoughtful gaze and a frustratingly composed expression, and her with tense battle ready features and a hard gaze that spoke volumes.

"You're not like the others." He flippantly announced his thoughts about her aloud.

Well, at least he was honest. She gave a stiff jerk of her chin in response, although she needn't confirm his statement. For that was exactly what it was, a statement.

"I am. What of it?" She bit back coolly, viciously strangling the hostility that threatened to leak into her tone. She wasn't about to carelessly pick a fight that she couldn't win. Not with this guy.

Then, most unexpectedly, he gave a wide almost boyishly charming grin and reached to adjust his hat. "Nothing really,"

He deliberately ignored the instant darkening of her features and the violent tic near the corner of her left eye. She had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at him in retaliation and frustration, as he finally drew his gaze away from her and towards their now empty surroundings.

He glanced around for a moment, before his features belatedly contorted into one of shock and disbelief. "What the-" he exclaimed, his tone almost panicked and his head twisting this way and that desperately looking for something.

It was that exact moment when she realized that she could no longer sense the presence of her crewmates. Her eyes blew wide and she too began to search the dunes desperately in hopes of spotting the rest of the Straw Hats, but there was nothing.

When it finally dawned on her that yes, she and Ace had indeed somehow fallen behind and were now lost... together in an ocean of sand, she very nearly punched the Second Division Commander of Whitebeard's crew out of reflex and extreme frustration.

This was just fucking great! Out of everyone, she just had to get lost with, with... _him_.

Hell, she'd happily take Zoro over this guy. At least with Zoro she knew where they stood, and she could actually get along with the swordsman. This guy on the other hand...

Her luck, she decided while throwing him a death glare, _could not_ possibly get any worse.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprisingly enough, I actually kind of like this one... or maybe I've just given up...? Yeah, I think I've just given up on hating my own work. XD 
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time.  
> \- SLBG

Ever since she had been more-or-less shanghaied into joining the small Straw Hat pirate crew, she'd always wondered if she was just incredibly unlucky or if all pirate crews ended up in as much trouble as this particular crew did. 

Honestly though, just how many other pirate crews had been swallowed by an island whale or done half the insane shit that they did, purposely or not? 

With Monkey D. Luffy as their Captain the Straw Hat Pirates were seemingly destined to dive headfirst into one misadventure and quickly fall into another. There was just no end to the... _excitement_. 

Sure, it was the insane Captain's fault most of the time, but the other members of the crew rarely tried in earnest to dissuade him from any of his crazy ass ideas. Although, she had to admit that out of the majority, Zoro usually ended up getting the worst of their shared misfortune – all on account of Luffy. 

It wasn't until she _'met'_ the other Supernova Captains and their crews on the Sabaody Archipelago that she realized she was in fact so very damn lucky to end up with Monkey D. Luffy as her Captain and the Straw Hats as her crewmates. She honestly wasn't sure that she would've been able to survive if any of them would've been her Captain, especially that Eustass "Captain" Kid guy. 

Now, _that_ was a crazy ass monster of a human being if she ever saw one. Not only was he strong and had a hair-trigger temper, but she could always sense bloodlust rolling off of him in waves. The guy was a ticking time bomb of eminent destruction and bloodshed. 

After seeing those guys she was extremely glad, and perhaps even a bit, dare she even think it... _lucky_ that Luffy had forcefully recruited her into his crew.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, I'm on one hell of a posting roll lately. I hope it lasts, but my luck is crappy at best so...
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time.  
> \- SLBG

After two long years, she once again set foot on the unique foundation of Sabaody Archipelago. Of course, she ended up docking right in the middle of the lawless area, but that was to be expected. She was a wanted criminal and her bounty wasn't anything to sneer at either - she had to be stealthy, and patient.

Not to mention that the rag-tag crew she had traveled with to get back to Sabaody Archipelago wouldn't be welcome on any even remotely civilized island. They were rough and vulgar and had faces that not even a mother could love. Some of them could really use a thorough scrubbing and a shave as well, she noted with a grimace.

"I won't say 'later', because I damn sure don't ever want to see you ugly bastards again." She turned back to the ragged ship and sneered coolly at the crew. Unsurprisingly, she received a similar response and some nasty comments to boot. On the outside she looked like she couldn't give a rats ass, but internally she gave a slight smile.

While she might not like the ugly bastards she would kinda-sorta, but then again maybe not, miss their rough mannerisms. It had been rather refreshing to be around so many likeminded individuals again. But now, after two years of harsh separation and daily struggle, she was ready to return to where she belonged.

She belonged with the Straw Hats, with her family, her _nakama_.  



	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and your time. - SLBG

It was all too easy to turn her back on just a few of the people she had come to know while she trained on the island of Purgatory. She only wished that facing the rest of the Straw Hats could be so easy.

How pathetic was it that she still had her doubts, even after two years of hellish training?

She was absolutely certain that she had gotten stronger. She had learned so many new and powerful techniques, but the question remained... was she strong enough to be their equal now? Was she good enough to be a member of the Straw Hat crew?

Of that, she wasn't so sure.

So, here she was, actively avoiding the whole lot of them sans the Captain, who had yet to arrive.

She was keeping a close eye on the Straw Hats that had arrived on Sabaody Archipelago though. She was curious, but wary. Two years wasn't all that long in the flow of time, but people could change all too easily.

She wanted to know if they had changed or if they were still the same old Straw Hats that she remembered, if they were still her _nakama_.

It was cowardly, she knew, but she had always been and would always be nothing, if not overly cautious.  



	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and your time. - SLBG

She was insulted; right and truly insulted.

Sure, she and the Straw Hats had become infamous worldwide, but this pathetic excuse of a doppelganger was taking it too damn far. What made it worse and roused her fury was that this ugly ass bimbo was posing as _her_.

_Oh, hell no._

She was not going to let this slander slide; she wasn't that nice.

The trembling, prostitute wannabe bitch in her clutches was going to _pay_.

Not with her life, she wasn't _quite_ that heartless after all. But the skank was going to rue the day that she decided to ride on _her_ reputation. Nothing could beat the original, and she was going to prove it.  



	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First meetings and or interactions between the nameless, unidentified girl and the members of the Straw Hat crew are rather difficult to write out, well some much more so than others. -_-
> 
> Thank you for reading and your time.  
> \- SLBG

Of all the rash things that Luffy did, _this_ was undoubtedly the stupidest so far.

She wasn't the only one who thought so either. However, one-by-one they all began to quickly warm up to and accept her as a crewmate. Mostly it was just her and Zoro who managed to keep some semblance of common sense. They were the only ones who seemed to know the true danger that Nico Robin posed to the crew.

Honestly though, she expected Zoro to cave in pretty soon. After all, what hot-blooded male could possibly resist the charms of a mature woman surrounded by mystery like that for very long? Men, she scoffed internally, were weak willed creatures that were easily controlled by their carnal desires. It was pathetic.

Letting that woman, a powerful former Baroque Works agent and Devil Fruit user join the crew was hazardous to the entire crew - she could all too easily destroy the Straw Hats from within and walk away mostly unharmed.

Did their Captain not understand the repercussions and eventual fallout of letting a woman with such a high bounty and nasty reputation join them? While she wasn't stupid enough to believe everything that the Marines said about people, especially pirates, it wasn't difficult to see that Nico Robin had her own, secret goals in mind when she requested to join the crew.

She had to hand it to her; Nico Robin was a truly cunning woman.

Not to mention that there were some subtle similarities between the two of them, and she _did not like it_. Not one damn bit. That was exactly why she was not going to let her guard down around, let alone trust, that woman. She wouldn't trust someone like her.  



	19. Chapter 19

_"What's your dream?"_

Every member of the crew wanted to accomplish something. Everyone that is, but her.

Days, weeks, and now months had passed since she'd first been asked that question, and she still didn't have an answer. Before Luffy had asked her that she had never even thought about 'dreams' or goals for the unforeseen future. All she ever did was fight to survive long enough to see another day.

She was now an official member of the Straw Hat pirate crew, but she still didn't have an answer to her Captain's question.

Just what was it that she wanted? Well, that was simple enough: she wanted to survive.

For what reason did she want to live so badly? For that however... she didn't have an answer. She just wanted to continue existing, that was all, and yet... it was nothing. It was absolutely nothing because in the end she had no purpose, no dreams or goals of her own.

Why then, had she fought so hard to see another sunrise for all these years? What was her purpose? What did she want out of life?

... She just didn't know.

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Characters and other recognizable things in this story belong to their respective copyright holders. The only things that I own are the original characters and plot of this story. I am making no money from writing this fan work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> So, this... This is... I have absolutely no idea what it is honestly or where it's going for that matter or if it's even going anywhere. I wrote this on a whim while playing around on creative writing prompts . com (I've completely forgotten which number I used though... I think it was #186, but I'm not completely sure...) and the Written? Kitten! page.
> 
> Also, this is not a romance story. It's only about friendship.
> 
> Take care,  
>  ~ SugarLandBabyGirl


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